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After Osama bin Laden's hijack squadrons
invaded our skies a year ago, America's military
responded. Operation Enduring Freedom
launched on Oct. 7, 2001. President Bush
deployed thousands of troops to combat terrorist
forces in the Middle East. By Memorial Day, dozens of men
who dedicated their lives to our country returned to their
families in flag-draped coffins.

They were doing what needed to be done.

The same cannot be said on the domestic front. One year
after the attacks, officials in both major parties continue to
be paralyzed by political correctness and bureaucratic
sclerosis. They have yet to come to grips with the reality of
homicidal America-haters lurking at our doorstep --
evildoers whose main tactic is to infiltrate our country and
kill us. Our immigration system remains gutless, clueless,
senseless and defenseless.

While young soldiers boldly took up arms overseas to
protect their fellow Americans, leaders in Washington took
meager baby steps to shore up our borders against foreign
invaders. Congress gave the INS more money, sprinkled a
few hundred more agents on the front lines, tossed in some
boats, cameras, night goggles and pepperball guns, and
renewed long-delayed efforts to track legal aliens entering
the country.

Meanwhile, long stretches of our borders remained
unpatrolled. In Pembina, N.D., our border was guarded by
a 12-foot steel barricade with a hopeless warning that
reads "Avoid Heavy Penalty" and asks intruders to check in
when they see the nearest guards. President Bush and
Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada announced new
programs this week to make travel between the two
countries even faster. "Stop times will be reduced from a
few minutes to seconds, and that's important," Bush
explained.

Responding to demands that America provide better travel
amenities to immigration outlaws entering from the south,
INS commissioner James Ziglar erected water stations
and "rescue beacons" -- 30-foot-tall, solar-powered towers
equipped with alarm buttons so illegal aliens could
summon help. The same week that Ziglar announced the
plan, federal agents arrested two Egyptians who allegedly
tried to smuggle in Middle Eastern immigrants through the
U.S.-Mexico border.

While our guardians in Washington pledged "Never again,"
they openly assured millions of immigration outlaws that
they would not be arrested -- and championed another
amnesty program of the very kind that has been exploited
by al Qaeda in the past. State and local governments
further rolled out the welcome mat by adopting or retaining
pro-illegal alien measures, from driver's licenses to
taxpayer-subsidized education to sanctuary laws, which
can all be exploited to ease a foreign terrorist's path to
destruction.

From the loose and open borders crowd came pledges of
patriotism and cooperation, followed by the same old
obstructionist complaints about tightening our immigration
policies: Too fast. Too costly. Unnecessary. Unrealistic.

The State Department continued issuing visas to tourists and businessmen from al
Qaeda magnet countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Yemen, as if
September 11 never happened. Citizens of official state sponsors of terrorism
(such as Iraq, Syria and Libya) aren't eligible for nonimmigrant visas but can still
participate in the Diversity Visa "green card" lottery giveaway.

Inside the INS, little changed. The agency continued its longstanding policy of
retaliating against whistleblowers and promoting life-long civil servants with
mile-long titles. Rank-and-file agents and inspectors continued to feel pressure to
support the travel industry's need for speed over safety. Apathetic officials turned
away illegal aliens rounded up by bail bondsmen and local police. Ziglar resigned,
but one of his chief deputies, Stuart Anderson -- a longtime advocate of lax
borders -- remains.

While Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta's minions roughhoused
grandmothers and ransacked bottled breast milk, millions of foreigners waltzed
into the country without even having to bother to get visas. Fraud-ridden State
Department policies such as the Transit Without a Visa and Visa Waiver Program
(exploited by alleged "shoe bomber" Richard Reid and indicted "20th hijacker"
Zacarias Moussaoui) continue to put foreign travelers' comfort and airline profits
over American citizens' safety.

More than 3,000 dead and 365 days later, this is where we stand today: While our
uniformed men and women carry the Stars and Stripes in battle overseas against
the terrorist hijackers' al Qaeda brethren, politicians and bureaucrats continue to
wave the white flag at home. Until Americans, native-born and naturalized alike,
demand that our government live up to its constitutional duty to provide for the
common defense, we will remain in a shamefully perilous state of surrender.